Credit: (Courtesy Photo)

World Wrestling Entertainment arrives tonight for a taping of Friday Night Smackdown at the Garden, and two of the WWE’s own are showing off their talent in and out of the ring. Kofi Kingston and John “JBL” Bradshaw Layfield both highlight the broad range of interests of a WWE superstar.

The show will serve as a homecoming for Kingston. He was born in Ghana but moved to Winchester before the second grade. After excelling in wrestling and football at Winchester High School, Kingston then graduated from Boston College in 2003.

Kingston began his journey into pro wrestling three years after he finished at BC. He had to earn his chance.

“I was putting in a full day at the office, then driving an hour down 495 to North Andover to practice wrestling for another three hours,” he said. “I did that five days a week for over a year, but anything worthwhile never comes without sacrifice.”

Another WWE superstar who knows all about sacrifice is Layfield. The 6-foot-6 former world champion, who provides the show’s color commentary, is in the middle of a global adventure.

Layfield, 46, has pledged to climb to the highest peak on each of the seven continents to raise money for the children of Bermuda. With funding from the WWE, all proceeds go directly to Bermuda’s Family Centre.

“I’m really honored to be climbing mountains and raising money for these wonderful kids in Bermuda,” Layfield, who has already reached the peak of Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro, said. “All of this is because of the WWE, which is the most charitable organization in the world.”

Layfield and Kingston will each be showing off their talents in front of another packed crowd at the Garden.

“The WWE has the best fan base in the world, but I’m a diehard Boston guy and it’s always good to come home,” Kingston said. “The crowd is always energetic at the Garden, so it’s the place I look forward to wrestling at the most.”